Electrode for electrolytic cells and process of making the same



C. J. ROTTMANN.

ELECTRODE FOR ELECTROLYTIC CELLS AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME. APPLICATION FILED APR. 5, 1911. RENEWED JULY 3. 1920.

1,367,097, Patented Feb. 1, 1921.

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ATTO.RNEY

: UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

CLARENCE I. ROTTMANN, OF WILKINSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO WEST- INGHOUSE ELECTRIC & MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION 01 PENN- SYLVAN IA.

ELECTRODE FOR ELECTROLYTIC CELLS AND PROCESS'OF MAKING: THE

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 5, 1917, Serial No. 160,034. Renewed July 3, 1920. Serial No. 394 015.

To all whom it may concern:

'Be it known that I, CLARENCE J. Ro'r'r- MANN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Wilkinsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Electrodesfor Electrolytic Cellsand Processes of Making the Same, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to electrolytic cells such as condensers, lightning arresters, rectlfiers and the like, and it has for its object to provide an electrode construction for cells corner of a completed electrode.

of the character indicated which shall present a large surfacearea to the action of the electrolyte of the cell in proportion to the volume occupied by the electrode, and in which the electrode shall be composed of a sin le sheet of filming material. I

ore specifically, one object of my invention is to provide an electrode for electrolytic cells of the above-indicated character which shall be composed of a considerable number of side-by-side elements of filming material connected at their ends by corrugated end pieces integral with the side-by side electrode elements.

Another object of my invention is to provide a simple and rapid method of constructing electrodes of the kind described above.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a sheet of filming material to be formed into an electrodein accordance with my invention and provided with transverse slots separating the areas of the plate which are to be brought into side-by-side relation.-

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showin the result of the corrugating step which orms a part of my process. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view showing one a plan view showing a modified form of electrode construction. Fig. 5 is a plan view, with parts shown in section and w1th the cover removed, of an electrolyt c cell constructed in accordance with my nvention. Fig. .6 is a side view, partially in elevation and partially in section, of the structure of Fig. 5, the section being taken substantially along the line VIVI, Fig. 5.

Electrolytic cells of the kind to which 111 invention relates are composed of a consi Fig. 4 is erable number of electrodes arranged in side-by-side relation, the alternate electrodes Patented Feb. 1, 1921.

cell per unit volume may be sufiiciently large for efi'ective operation.

According to my present invention, I produce, an electrode for electrolytic cells of the character indicated by providing a sheet of aluminum or other filming material with a series of parallel transverse slits and with short cross slits at the ends of the transverse slits, and corrugating the, sheet parallel to the transverse slits and thereby bringing the areas of the plate between the transverse slits into parallel and adjacent relation. The resulting structure consists essentially of a series of side-by-side strips or ribbons of filming material united by means of integral corrugated end pieces and forming a rigid and compact structure of large surface area.

The process outlined above is illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3ofthe accompanying drawing. Fig. 1 shows one end of a sheet of filming material 2, in which are formed a series of parallel transverse slits 3 and two rows of cross slits 4 at the ends of the slits 3. The sheet 2 is passed between corrugating rollers which impart to it the form shown in Fig. 2, the sheet being fed into the corrugating rollers in such a manner that the slits 3 are disposed along the crests of the resulting corrugations. The electrode sheet is completed by bending the material adjacent to the slits 3 into the parallel relation shown. at 5 in Fig. 3, the portions 5 of the sheet being fiat and perpendicular to the original plane of the sheet and being connected by the corrugated end portions 6. The same result may be obtained by corrugating only the edges of the sheet, in which case the strips between the parallel slits are brought at, once into their final positions.

,that sheet material is provided with two separate slotted areas, with the result that the sets of strips 8 and 9 are connected by an integral corrugated portion 10, the outer ends of the strips bein connected, as in the form ofelectrode first described, by means of corrugated integral end pieces 11.

Both of the electrode forms which I have shown and described may be disposed either horizontally or Vertically in use. If the electrodes are/placed vertically, the long e pre dimensions of the parallel strips 5 ar erably vertical, in order that convection currents set up in the electrolyte may pass freely through the electrodes.

Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawing illustrate an electrolytic cell provided with electrodes constructed in the manner described above and comprising a rectangular container 15 which is preferablyp'rovided with a lining 16 of aluminum or of such other filming material as is employed for the electrodes of the cell. The container 15 is provided with a cover 17 from which are. suspended eight vertical rods 18 for supporting a series of superposed electrodes 19, each of x which is composed, in the manner described above, of a considerable number of parallel strips 5 connected by means of corrugated end pieces 6. In order to increase the trans- I rods 18'.

verse rigidity of-the electrodes, one or more stiffening rods 19 may be passed through the corrugated end pieces or strips 5 midway 'n Fig. 1. I

The electrodes may be supported within through the the container 15 in any suitable manner.

As shown, each of the electrodes is provided with four outwardly extending lugs 20, two

of which are disposed at diagonally opposite corners of the electrode,

while the other two are disposed at some distance from the remaining corners of the electrode. The electrodes constructed in this manner are superposed, the alternate electrodes being turned end for end to bring the corresponding lugs 20 belonging to the plate of one polarity into vertical alinement. Each of the vertical rods 18' extends through openings in one vertically alined set of the lugs. 20 and the several electrodes are vertically spaced apart the proper distances by means of spacing sleeves 21 which surround the supporting rods 18 between the lugs 20. The lower electrode of each set rests upon flanges or nuts 22 on the-lower ends of the The upper and lower electrodes are of one-half the thickness of the intermediate in the appended claims.

of their ends, as best shown electrodes, since each bf the. intermediate electrodes cooperates with an electrode 1 above andbelow it, while the upper and lower electrodes cooperate with one adjacent electrode only. A splash-plate 23 may be supported between the cover 17 and the upper electrode, the splash-plate being suitably composed of a sheet-of aluminum supported by one of the sets of rods 18 of the same polarity. Terminal devices '24 are secured to the up er ends of two of the.

suspension rods 18 elongingto. sets of electrodes of opposite polarity.

While I have illustrated certain forms of electrode construction which are well adapted to carry my invention into practice, it is' and described be taken as illustrative only and not as imposing limitations upon my mventmn, the scope of WlllCh is lndlcated clalm as my invention:

1. An electrode for electrol ic condensers, lightning arresters, recti ers and the ike comprising a plurality of side-b '-side and parallel strips of filming materia connected at their ends by means of corrugated end pieces integral with the said strips.

2. An electrode for electrolytic condensers, lightning arresters, recti ers and the like comprising a plurality of' side-by-side and parallel strips of filming material connected at their ends by means of corrugated end pieces integral with and having corrugations parallel to the said strips.

An electrode for electrolytic condensers, lightning arresters, rectifiers and the like comprising a plurality of side-by-side and parallel strips of aluminum connected at ,pleces integral with the said strips.

4. An electrode for electrolytic condensers, lightning arresters, rectifiers and the like comprisin a plurality of side-by-side elements of lming material connected at their ends by means of corrugated end pieces integral with the said elements and reinforcing members extending through the corrugations of the said end pieces.

5. An electrode for electrol tic condensers, lightning arresters, recti ers and the like comprising a plurality of and parallel strips of filming materia connected at their ends by means of corrugated end pieces integral with the said strips and reinforcing rods of filming material extending through the corrugations of the said end pieces.

6. An electrode for electrol tic condensers, lightning arresters, rectifiers and the may readily be devised I therefore desire that side-b -side meme? like comprising a plurality of side-b -side i and parallel strips of filming materia connected at their ends by means of corrugated end pieces integral w th and having corrugations parallel to the said strips and reinforcing, rods of filming material extending through the corrugations of the said en tions severall ers, lightnin' arresters, recti ers and the 3 tions severaliiy like formed rom a single sheet of filming material and comprising a plurality of porcomposed of side-by-side strips, the sai portions and the ends ofthe said strips being connected by means of corrugated pieces integral with the said strips and reinforcing rods of filming material extending through the corrugations in the said connecting pieces.

9. An-electrolytic cell comprising a plurality of adjacentelectrodes severally composed of a plurality-of side-by-side and parallelstrips of filming material connected at their ends by'means of corrugated end pieces integral with the said strips.

10.'The process of making an electrode for electrol tic cells that comprises forming a plura ity of parallel slits 1n a sheet of electrode material and bending the unslitted portions of said sheet adjacent to the ends of the said slits and thereby bringing the strips of material between the said slits into parallel and side-by-side relation.

11. The process of making an electrode for electrolytic cells that comprises forming a plurality of )arallel I-shaped slits in a sheet of electrode material and corrugating the said sheet adjacent to the ends of the said slits and thereby bringing the strips of material between the said slits into parallel and side-by-side relation.

12. The process of making an electrode for electrolytic cells that comprises forming a pluralit of parallel I-shaped slits in a sheet of fi ming metal, perforating the said sheet adjacent to the ends of the said slits, corrugatin'g the perforated portion of the said sheet and thereby bringing the said perforations and the strips of metal between the said slits into parallel and side-byside relation and passing reinforcing rods through the sets of alined perforations.

'13. An electrode for electrolytic condensers, lightning arresters, rectifiers and the like comprisin a corrugated and slitted sheet of film-formmg material.

14. An electrode for electrol tic condensers, lightning arresters,. recti ers and the like comprisin a sheet of film-formin material longitu inally corrugated, with the bends of the corrugations longitudinally slitted and opened out throughout a portion' of. their length.

15. An electrode for electrol tic condensers, lightning arresters, recti ers and. the like comprising a plurality of side-by-side elements of filming material connected at their ends by means of corrugated end pieces integral with the said elements.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this-4th day of April 191 CLARENCE J. ROTTMANN. 

